Thief-alarm



1.. F. LEWIS.

Burglar Alarm.

Patented "March 1866.

/2v VE/VTOR 6 E 5 n W l w N. PETERS. Phom-LillmgnpheL Washinglnn. LL 0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. LEWIS, OF PITTSTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

THlEF-ALARM.

pecification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,0] 5, dated March 6,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. LEW1s, of Pittston, in the county of Lnzerneand State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved ThiefDetecter or Alarm; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilledin the art to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanyin g drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to a thief detecter or alarm, designed moreespecially to be used in gardens, fields, orchards, yards, and otheroutof-door places, so that the robbing or pilfering of any articlesbelonging to such places, or of clothes hung upon clothes-lines, &c.,can be to a great extent, if not entirely, prevented; and it consists ina novel-arranged alarm or detecter to be inserted in the ground, which,when the least pressure is exerted upon it by any person walking oversuch ground, will cause an instant explosion to occur, which, if it doesnot injure the person, will at least so frighten and alarm him as tocause him to make a hasty retreat without securing the intended plunderor property.

In accompanying plate of drawings my improved thief detecter or alarm isillustrated.

Figure l is a central vertical section through the thief-alarm device;Fig. 2, a plan or top view, and Fig. 3 a similar view to Fig. 1, butwith the alarm inserted in the ground.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This alarm consists of a wooden box or tube, A, made of either a squareor cylindrical shape in cross-section, and of any desired length as, forinstance, one or two feet, or more or less-according to the size andweight of the bottle B used,the box being of sufficient size to allowthe bottle to move or play easy and free in it.

In the neck 0 of the bottle is inserted an ordinary gun-cap tube, D, andthe bottle, by its lower end or portion, E, is placed in the opening Fof the top piece, G, of the tube or box A in an inverted position-thatis, with its neck downwardthe bottom of the bottle slightly projectingbeyond the'said top piece, G. This bottle B it is intended to fill withgunpowder or other suitable explosive material or materials, previous toinserting itin the box-top G, as above explained, and its captube hasalso a percussion-cap placed upon it.

The box A, thus provided with a bottle containing an explosive material,is, when to be used, placed in and below the surface of the ground, asplainly shown in Fig. 3, its lower end resting upon a flat-shaped stoneor other material of sufficient hardness to explode a percussion-capwhen the latter is brought in contact with it with any degree of force;and then, in order to disguise and prevent it from being readilyobserved or discovered, its .upper or top piece is covered over withturf or dirt.

From the manner in which the bottle is hung in the box A it is obviousthat, with a slight pressure upon it, it will be let free, fallingwithin the tube and striking by its cap end against the stone upon whichthe box rests, thereby exploding the same, which,communicating with thepowder in the bottle in turn explodes it, causing a loud report,according to the quantity of/it, and thus producing the necessary alarm.

From the above description it is obvious that by inserting several of myimproved alarms in the ground at such places as may be deemed mostadvisable and desirable, if any person not acquainted with theirrespective locations should attempt to pass over or trespass upon suchground, there would be but very little, if any, uncertainty of his soonstepping upon one of the same, and thus cause its charge to be explodedand the alarm to be sounded, warning the people occupying such ground ofhis approach, even if no serious injury is occasioned to him by suchexplosion, thereby causing him to make such a hasty retreat in order toescape, if able so to do, as to have no time to think of the plunder orproperty which he had intended to secure.

In addition to the above-described burglaralarm I deem it prudent andexpedient to use what I term a safety-valve, H, in the bottle, box, orcasing, which valve, when so desired, is thrown across the box betweenits bottle and its lower end, a wire, I, being connected therewith forconvenience in moving it, the

object of which valve is to enable the alarm to be retained in theground, and yet render it safe to pass over such ground withoutexploding the charges in the same, even if by any possibility theyshould be trod on, the percussion-cap of 'th e bottles inwsnch casesstriking against this valve, which is intended to be of such a materialas to cause no explosion of it to occur.

From the above it is manifest that by my invention I have-produced athiefv"(letecterpossessing simplicity in construction, cheapness,durability, and utility, and certaintyof operation, all of which arequite important to the successful introduction and use ofsuchimplements.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letter's-Patent- The tube orspout A, either with or Without the safety-valve H, in combination withthe bottle B,or other suitable receptacle for the explosivematerial,-having a cap-tube, 0, when arranged together, so as to operatein the manner and for the purpose specified.

JOHN F. LEWIS. Witnesses THOS. FORD, t r a J. B. SHIFFER.

